Travel Etc.

Pairing Friends and Food

While attending a conference in New York for culinary professionals I was surrounded by food writers, chefs, cooking instructors, food photographers, food travelers, and many other occupations involving food. Over the course of three days I was often asked the question “what do you do?”. For most people it’s an easy question to answer, but every time I answered “I’m a cooking teacher” I didn’t feel like it was a complete answer. I mean, I do a lot of things (just like most people), but it occurred to me that I should consider what I do that gives me the most satisfaction and affects others the most positively.

What truly gets me excited is connecting people through food. While teaching cooking is enjoyable, watching people in my classes interact, laugh, exchange phone numbers, and eventually becoming friends is really what gives me the most joy. Since I love to entertain and throw parties, I’ve learned that inviting people from different social groups is so effective in creating new relationships. Because I love to share my home with people, whether it’s a class, jewelry show, meeting, party, or just gathering of girlfriends, there’s always food, and somehow people find common interests amongst each other and form new friendships. At one of my jewelry shows I introduced my Pilates instructor to a friend who was considering starting Pilates. My friend started taking the classes, and the two became dear friends. Another friend who is a farmer came to a dinner party and met a chef who now uses her meat and eggs.

A couple years ago I had the idea to throw a dinner party at my house, and invited chefs and people in the food industry. Because I’m not a restaurant chef, I didn’t know many chefs well. I knew they would be puzzled by an invitation from someone they didn’t know, but thirty people showed up, and we had a wonderful party. People who were competitive in the industry, or didn’t know each other were brought together in a neutral environment where I fed them food from my kitchen. The evening was magical and so many friendships were made. I’ve made this event an annual event, and each time more friendships are made and new business relationships are formed.

While pairing wine with food is a pleasure to do, I’ve found that pairing Friends With Food is extremely rewarding and often life-changing. I’m not sure people will understand the answer “I pair people with food” when they ask me “what I do”, but I know that I’m glad I’ve been given the gift of pairing two of the best things on this earth!

Under The Tuscan Clouds (with my British Bestie)

It was six years ago this month I met my English friend, Rachael. We were both on a cooking tour in South India, and both traveling alone. It took all of ten minutes to learn we had so much in common, and would get along great. Since then, we’ve met somewhere in the world at least once a year, and every time the trip is centered around food. Rachael is a country girl from Suffolk, England and she is one of the best cooks and wine experts I’ve ever met. When we cook together it’s like a symphony, in that we work together in perfect harmony (and often we sing together as if we’re opera stars). Her hilarious British humor keeps me in stitches all the time, so much that I have a file in my cell phone called “Rachael sayings”.

When I became the winning bidder at a charity auction in Tulsa, and received a certificate for a “week in Tuscany” I knew Rachael was the perfect companion, since we both wanted to study Tuscan cuisine and wine. We chose to go in February when it was low season for tourists in Italy, and we couldn’t have been more pleased!

We met in Rome and stayed at the Grand Minerve Hotel just behind the Pantheon, and the location was fantastic for all the things we planned to see. We had been together in Rome a couple years ago, and done a lot of the touristy things, but we still had to see the Colosseum at night, the Trevi Fountain in the morning, and eat dinner at Harry’s Bar. We shopped at Campo dei Fiori where my favorite vendors acted like their long lost sister had arrived when they saw me. It was a great display of affection, and Rachael was quite impressed. We bought Sicilian almonds, pistachios, sun-dried tomatoes, dried herb seasonings, and jars of truffles. We had promised each other we wouldn’t buy much, but the charm won us over and we lugged our shopping bags back to the hotel room in wonder of how we would get it all home. I do this every time I go to Rome (and never regret it).

We took a train to our “Tuscan holiday destination” in Cortona, a small city that sits high on Mount Sant-Egidio overlooking rolling hills and Lake Trasimeno. The medieval and Renaissance architecture is beautiful, and the narrow streets will take you to many viewing points overlooking the valleys. When we arrived to the train station, we met our taxi driver, Francesco who took us to the Cortona Resort and Spa where our huge room awaited us. We couldn’t wait to unpack and set up camp! The grounds were immaculate and overlooked a beautiful Tuscan valley. There was a heated pool, spa, friendly staff, and can you believe it was High Tea Time in the parlor? We were starving, of course, so we did our best to eat as many tea cakes and butter cookies without looking too desperate. Dinner in the restaurant was delicious, and the waitstaff didn’t seem to mind at all when we giggled our way through dinner (did I mention Rachael is hilarious?) The tagliatelle pasta with butter and shaved truffles was so good we nearly licked the bowl.

We hired Francesco to drive us to the Tuscan towns of San Gimignano and Siena. I’ve been to both places several times during the high seasons of summer and fall, and the crowds of tourists are ridiculous. However, this time there were nearly no tourists at all. It was absolutely incredible! We had a marvelous time shopping and walking down residential streets, eating gelato, drinking espresso, sipping wine, laughing all the way. Our climb up the tower in Siena was one of the most special moments of my life.

The sun shown through the clouds just next to the Duomo as if the heavens were opening, and we couldn’t get enough photos to show as proof it was really happening.

Another great day was spent with Antonella Piredda, an incredible guide for the area of Sienna and Montepulciano. We hired her for a day, and we toured a winery in Montepulciano, a medieval hill town known for itsincredible wine made from the Sangiovese grapes. We also visited a coppersmith who has been forging copper his entire life (he’s 82). He was so excited to make Rachael and me a copper medallion with our initials and date. Down the street was a shop that sold his incredible copper wares, including hammered spoons, ladles, pots, and beautiful wine carafes.

Antonella took us to the town of Pienza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was possibly the most charming city I’ve ever visited, and is one of the best examples of Renaissance artchitecture. It’s the capital of Pecorino cheese, and there are quaint little cheese shops scattered about the town. Antonella did a superb job of guiding us through these towns and explaining the history, food, wine-making and anything we wished to know about the area.

Another highlight of our Cortona experience was a cooking class with Ryan Hanley in his quaint country home set in the valley near Cortona. He is American, but has lived in Italy with his Italian wife, Deborah for 14 years. They were absolutely delightful, and they had a magnificent kitchen in their home set up perfectly for cooking classes. We spent four hours cooking numerous Tuscan dishes and listening to Ryan explain the traditions and methods for making each of them. Deborah was thoroughly entertaining as she told stories of her life in Italy and teased Ryan about American food traditions. Their home has a charming old dining room with stone walls and a wood fire place (we grilled steaks on the fire). It has a long dining table perfect for dinner parties where Ryan can be hired to prepare meals for groups up to twelve. We left full of good food, recipes, and promises to recommend him to our friends. It was a fantastic cooking experience!

Our last day of our Tuscan holiday was spent in Florence for a short day trip. Rachael had never been to Florence so we took the one-hour train ride to the famous city. Unfortunately, it was raining and very cold. And unlike the other cites we had visited, which had virtually no tourists, Florence was packed with them. Even in the rain, hundreds of people stood with their umbrellas waiting to get into the Duomo. We walked around the city center and to the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge where there are numerous jewelry shops. We found a beautiful hotel nearby and stopped there for lunch. We looked out onto the river where it was pouring rain, and ate hamburgers and french fries, smiling the entire time. We had had our fill of pasta, and couldn’t wait to sink our teeth into a juicy burger. After two hours of relaxing in the hotel lobby, we trekked our way back to the train station and returned to Cortona for our last night. We both wanted pizza for dinner, so Francesco took us to his favorite pizzeria, Ghiottone De Mauro. Of course, we ordered two pizzas, spicy sausage and quattro formaggi. We only ate half, and gave the rest to Francesco when he picked us up.

Our holiday ended in Rome as Rachael and I said our goodbyes, knowing we would see each other again soon. We both agreed we hadn’t laughed so much in a very long time, and we would miss talking about food and wine nearly non-stop. We made many notes and took lots of photos, promising to go home and make some of our Italian food discoveries. Whether we actually do it is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, we’ll forever be grateful for that Indian holiday six years ago that began a friendship of a lifetime.

I've been so fortunate to meet people with the same passion as I have for hospitality and feeding people. But, meeting Lisa Caruccio just by chance on the internet, turned out to be more than fate. Lisa lives in Mercer Island, Washington, just 15 minutes from downtown Seattle, and after raising her three children, she and her husband Rino, fulfilled her dream of opening Caruccio's in downtown Mercer Island where she hosts visiting chefs, throws parties, and welcomes the community to come together in the name of food and wine. She told me she finally made the decision to open Caruccios's after her very ill mother made her promise to to follow her dream. Soon after her mother's death Lisa found the perfect location, and she and Rino built their beautiful culinary event center.

Lisa and and I corresponded by emails and phone calls before I made my plan to visit and teach two classes at Caruccio's this month. I arrived on Monday, and we quickly confirmed that we were kindred spirits. We both love to cook, entertain, work long hours, and feed our friends. We spent the afternoon walking around the shops where Lisa introduced me to her friends in the community. We had pizza for lunch and went to the local grocery market to begin shopping for the upcoming events we would host together. She proudly showed me the beautiful facility where she spends most of her days. Caruccio's is an 1800 square foot space designed perfectly for cooking demonstrations, parties, pop-up dinners, and wine events. The teaching kitchen has state-of-the-art equipment, including audio-visual technology so everyone can view the chef demonstrations on multiple screens. There is also a prep kitchen in the back, and a mezzanine above the kitchen with a large hardwood table and chairs, and fireplace. We spent one evening in the mezzanine with a wine representative who provided a generous tasting for potential wines to sell.

My second day at Caruccio's I taught a lunch class for 17 people where I prepared Butternut Squash and Pumpkin soup with coffee-dusted pepitas. I also prepared my Spicy Black Bean Soup, and Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad. I couldn't let them leave without an Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie. It was a big success, and after announcing my Spanish Tapas class for later in the week, six more people signed up to attend. The following day Lisa and I prepared for "Wine Wednesday", a very fun evening she hosts every Wednesday night. We started cooking early in the morning preparing a multitude of snacks and appetizers for the 50-plus people who attended. Lisa loves to host Wine Wednesday because people from all over the community come together to purchase a glass of wine and eat the food she prepares for them. We creatively found things in her fridge and made delicious dips, toast toppers, and a few Spanish tapas that brought raves from our guests.

My final day in Mercer Island started early. I drove into Seattle to the Pikes Place Market to have a quiet breakfast overlooking the pier. I purchased the meat for my class that night, and returned to Caruccio's to begin preparations for my Spanish Tapas cooking class. I made cheese-stuffed piquillo peppers, stuffed mushrooms, and a cheese platter for appetizers as guests arrived. We offered three Spanish wines to pair with the food throughout the night. I demonstrated Spanish meatballs in almond sauce, steak with Cabrales sauce, fierce potatoes with garlic aioli, and garlic peppery shrimp. I had cooked the steak in a sous vide bath all day, so it was perfectly cooked to medium rare before I seared it in a hot skillet with butter and Spanish olive oil. For dessert I made churro and chocolate. By the end of the evening every person was filled and happy. I announced I would be returning to Caruccio's in the summer to cook my seven course "Around the World Dinner", and every person in the room requested to be on the list to attend.

Although the week at Mercer Island was a lot of work, I had the most marvelous time. Lisa and I became such good friends, and we look forward to working and playing in the kitchen again soon. Thankfully, I'll get to see her at the IACP conference in New York in a month, which is a conference for culinary professionals.

I never tire of making friends, especially those who share my passion for feeding people and bringing friends together. If you're ever in the Seattle area, check out Lisa's website at www.caruccios.com and register for a class or pop-up dinner. And don't forget about Wine Wednesday!

Tell Us About Your Travels....

You get precise answers if you ask me about Indian food, knife skills, how to sew a button, or how to string a necklace. But, ask me to talk about myself and how I became a chef and world traveler......I struggle to know where to start. That became apparent when I was asked to speak to the Travel and Tourism class at Oklahoma State University.

Thirty years ago I attended OSU in the Clothing, Textiles, and Merchandising department. I taught the freshman sewing classes and retail clothing merchandising as a graduate teaching assistant. Last week, just thirty years later, I spent an afternoon touring the College of Human Sciences at OSU in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (formerly the School of Hotel Restaurant Administration). Teaching the Travel and Tourism class was going to be a treat, but it was difficult to know what to say.

I began by telling the students about my semester abroad in Vienna, Austria. That trip was life-changing for me, and was when my dream of world travel began. My first job teaching cooking was for Tulsa Neighborhood Networks, where I taught underprivileged kids in an apartment complex for low-income housing. After school, the kids would fill an empty apartment while I taught them how to make easy and nutritious meals for themselves and their families.

I was also taking cooking classes on my own, including four years of “professional chef” classes at The Savory Chef in Tulsa.

I told the students that my husband and I traveled a lot, and after several trips abroad I decided I wanted to start learning international cuisine, especially the places where I was visiting. I began traveling alone and meeting new friends around the world who were eager to help me learn local cooking and food cultures.

Meanwhile, I started teaching adult cooking classes at The Savory Chef, and I’ve since taught at other cooking schools, private homes, and now exclusively in my own home where I have a teaching kitchen and outdoor kitchen that are ideal for cooking classes.

I’ve also taught in the Dominican Republic and Rwanda to very poor women who receive micro-loans for their small businesses.

When I finished my talk to the OSU students, I was flattered by the number of questions they asked me. “Where would you live if you left the U.S.?” “Australia”. “What is your favorite cuisine to cook?” “I don’t have a favorite. I love to cook Indian food because most people don’t know how, but I also love to cook southern Italian food."

"I enjoy cooking what I know others will eat, and want to learn how to make”. “Are you afraid of getting sick when you eat in other countries?” “I try to be careful, and I have medications I take with me in case I become sick. It’s important to me to try everything I can, especially if the cook is standing before me, waiting to see if I enjoy it. In India, my guide told me he had never seen an American try everything that was offered, including street food in the poorest areas of New Dehli.

In Dominican Republic I was offered a beef empanada from a woman who sold them in the streets. I couldn’t refuse it and she was so happy I took a bite. My guide told me I should be more careful about eating food that I wasn’t used to. She was also Dominican, and she said she would not have accepted the empanada. It was more important to me to show the woman my respect”.

I answered similar questions for at least thirty minutes until I had to stop for the end of class. It was such a privilege to share a part of my story with those students, and I hope I gave them some inspiration to learn the most they can when they travel. I also emphasized the importance of sharing their gifts with people they meet, whether it’s photography, cooking, knitting, or playing with children. Travel is a privilege, whether it’s in the U.S. or abroad. Wherever you’re able to explore, respect the culture, eat the food, ask questions, and always smile.

Hanging Loose In Maui

After a week on the Big Island in Hawaii, my husband and I decided to spend a few days in Maui, an island we’d never visited. We also chose to stay at our first Airbnb, which made us a little nervous. After a lot of research, we chose a condo just off the beach in Kapalua on the northwest shore of the island. It turned out to be a fantastic property with a gorgeous view of the ocean. The Kapalua community has a couple of resorts, a lot of great restaurants, and beautiful beaches. Each morning we walked for miles down the beach, and around the neighborhoods where pine trees towered above us. The views of the mountains and the famous Plantation Golf Course were stunning.

Our first night in Maui we saw the most incredible sunset we had ever seen, and the following nights were not much different. We had booked a helicopter ride with Sunshine Helicopters, and had a great 1 1/2 hour ride all over the island, viewing the volcanic ruins, plush green rain forests, and numerous waterfalls running between the steep peaks high in the clouds. Our pilot, Tim, was a former Marine and was a terrific guide telling us about the eco systems, industries, and history of the island.

We spent much of the week relaxing at the beach, shopping in Paia and eating at some great restaurants. I spent a lot of time making jewelry with my great ocean views and Phil played golf at Plantation. Although we didn’t explore the south shore or east shore, we had a marvelous time relaxing in our little corner of the island. One of our favorite restaurants was Joey’s Kitchen, a small restaurant in a shopping center with delicious island/Asian fusion food made by Joey, a chef with experience at many of the large resort restaurants.

One night we ordered carry-out and took it to our condo, and it was so good we ate at Joey’s for our last meal before going to the airport. We also loved Merriman, a beachfront restaurant in Kapalua, where we also ate two times because it was so good! The pineapple bread pudding and the beef sliders were amazing.

Lahaina Grill is a great restaurant located in the little village of Lahaina. It doesn’t have an ocean view, but the food was delicious. Our favorite breakfast spot was the Honolua Store on the Ritz Carlton property. It is a fabulous souvenir shop, market, and made-to-order food counter with amazing breakfast including pulled pork wrapped-in-pancakes, hashbrown and egg skillets, omelets, and pastries. It was really difficult to leave this island of paradise, but we will definitely return when we can work off the six pounds we gained.

Chef Fest Hawaii

The Kona-Kohala Coast of Hawaii Island is a piece of paradise. My purpose for visiting the award-winning Four Seasons Resort was to attend my first Chef Fest, a four-day event filled with activities including cooking classes, mixology classes, wine dinners, beach parties, and just “sitting around the fire” with some of America’s top chefs. My niece happens to be a manager at the Residents Beach House restaurant on the property, and she told me a year ago, when she first helped with the event, that I must attend the following year.

Well, I just completed an incredible stay at the Four Seasons Hualalai, and it did not disappoint. Not only are the accomodations luxurious with gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean, the staff is spot-on perfect! Every detail was considered for the hotel’s guests, and the Chef Event was perfectly executed.

The opening night was a tasting event with at least ten chefs and six wine or spirits reps serving delicious portions of their best creations. The setting was the outdoor amphitheater, with live music and island ambiance. The following days were scheduled with cooking classes, an elaborate wine tasting from Harlan Estate in Napa Valley, a mixology class with Julie Reiner, beach party with more tastings from celebrity chefs, and wine dinners the remaining evenings.

I was privileged to get to play tennis three days with two of the chefs, Jonathan Waxman and Christof Syre, and we had a great time! The three classes I took were from Chefs Jonathan Waxman, Gabrielle Hamilton, and Andy Ricker. Other chefs at the event were Neal Frasier, Ivan Orkin, Fabrizo Schenardi, Edward Lee, and Thomas Bellec. I met them all, and tasted their delicious food harvested on the island. I can’t compliment the Four Seasons Hualalai enough for their attention to detail to making this event such a success. Being a guest at this beautiful resort was such a treat, and a sure lure for next year’s event.

Around The World Dinner

It’s no secret that I have a heart for Rwanda, Africa. Last February I visited for my second time, and was introduced to Hope Haven, a school in rural Kigali where over 400 children have the privilege of being educated. I stayed at the school for nearly a week, teaching cooking to the kitchen staff and some of the parents of the students. I was invited to their annual fundraiser event held in Denver last April, where I offered to donate a dinner party for eight people to be prepared in the home of Hope Haven’s founder, Susan Hollern. Five hundred people attended the event at the Wildlife Museum in Denver, and I was stunned when the bidding for my dinner went to $16,000! I agreed to cook the dinner twice, so the total raised from my two dinners was $32,000! That thrilled me since I knew that kind of money would be so beneficial for Hope Haven and the children that are hugely impacted there.

The first of the two dinners was scheduled for October, and I offered the winning bidders the opportunity to invite more guests. Fourteen guests were invited, with one couple bringing an infant. I arrived in Denver three days before the dinner in order to start my preparations (although I prepared my menu for weeks ahead). I decided to cook a seven-course dinner with an “Around the World” theme, based on seven different countries where I have traveled. I had special menu booklets designed for each person, and a generous wine collector donated nine different wines to pair with the appetizers and seven courses.

The first day in Denver, I got acquainted with Susan’s kitchen and began sourcing my ingredients. I took many of my own spices and a few tools, but Susan’s kitchen was well-stocked and ready for me to take over.

By the end of day two, I had stuffed two of her refrigerators full, and the countertop was piled with potatoes, tomatoes, beans, olive oils, and other necessary ingredients. Susan had found a young man who had gone to culinary school to assist me with preparations, so we chopped for hours and made the soup, curry, chocolate tarts, causas, and risotto balls on Thursday, the day before the event. Susan carefully set the table with her beautiful china, crystal, and silver, and I arranged flowers for the centerpieces. Since I was serving seven courses, I planned how each would be plated, and how we would wash certain dishes after they were used, in order to be plated for another course. Fortunately, I had six people to help me plate and serve, including my son and his girlfriend who drove two hours to assist me. A professional photographer was hired to capture the entire evening in beautiful photos, and I must say, the evening could not have gone more perfectly.

As people arrived they were served potato causas on appetizer spoons. It’s a Peruvian dish that is layered mashed potatoes flavored with chile puree and layered with avocado and shrimp. The second appetizer was Sicilian arancini, fried risotto balls filled with cheese.

After an hour of sipping Champagne and visiting on the veranda overlooking the beautiful mountain views, everyone sat down at the dining table to eat the first course, a salad inspired by the Caribbean. I had grilled fresh pineapple that was basted with vanilla paste and served in a green salad with other tropical fruits and almonds. The second course was inspired by Rwanda and the cooking experience I had in February when I taught the cooks to make pumpkin and sweet potato soup from the gardens at the school. For this dinner I garnished the soup with pepitas roasted with Rwandan coffee.

The third course was inspired by Peru, and was my award-winning dish from a competition in Tulsa last spring. Vegetable ceviche with tiger milk was the most labor-intensive dish of the night because of all the ingredients that were carefully chopped to the perfect size and fit into lovely crystal cocktail glasses. The tiger milk, which is coconut milk, cilantro, and other flavors, is poured over the top and garnished with toasted corn and quinoa. Many people said it was their favorite course of the night.

Chickpea Curry over basmati rice

The fourth course, inspired by my travels in India, was chickpea curry over basmati rice with yogurt raita dolloped on top. I toast and grind my own spices when I cook Indian food, and this time was no different.

Genovese Pesto with Sicilian Pine Nuts

Course number five was inspired by my recent travel to Camogli, Italy where I purchased the pasta from a shop on the seafront and brought it back just for this event. I made fresh Genovese pesto with Sicilian pine nuts, and tossed it with the pasta, garnished with Pecorino cheese.

Colorado beef from Susan's ranch.

Course six was a Spanish plate with Colorado beef from Susan’s ranch. I grilled the tenderloins and sliced them into portions topped with Spanish blue cheese and cream sauce. I made a Romesco sauce made of blended roasted red peppers, almonds and smoked paprika to toss with sauteed shrimp that was served with poached fingerling potatoes in Spanish olive oil. Back in the kitchen my helpers and I were eating the blue cheese sauce with spoons because it was so good.

French inspired chocolate tarts for dessert.

Finally, I served chocolate tarts inspired by France, which were made with two chocolates, liqueur, and a splash of Rwandan coffee. Lightly sweetened whipped creme fraiche, for the tarts, was the final garnish of the night.

I didn’t sleep well that night because of the excitement from feeling like I had really pulled off something I had never done before. I am a cooking teacher, and I’ve never cooked in a restaurant. I’ve cooked for many parties of my own and I’ve been hired to cook for many events, but this was different. These guests paid a lot of money, and entrusted me to provide not just a good meal, but an experience. Getting to use the knowledge I’ve gained from my travels was so exciting to me, and the ability to share it with these special people who love and support Hope Haven was a night I will never forget. I cannot wait to do it again!

Tomorrow I go to Denver to begin preparing a dinner party for someone who purchased my "Around the World Dinner to raise money for Hope Haven, a school in Rwanda, Africa". The winning bidder paid $16,000 for this special occasion, so No Pressure Here! I've practiced and worked on the menu and dishes for quite some time, and this week I'll be posting some of the dinner courses with the recipes that I'll be serving on Friday night.

Today I present the Indian Course, Chickpea Curry. My spices are toasted and ground (all 10 of them), and my suitcase is getting full of some unique items. Here I go! Here’s the Chickpea Curry recipe: beadsandbasil.com/main-dishes/2017/3/24/chickpea-curry

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Savoring Seattle

There’s just something about traveling with a good friend. Anne Marie is from France, and she has lived in Oklahoma for twenty years. Fortunately, she hasn’t lost her beautiful French accent, and she is one of the most elegant people I know. She owns The French Bouquet floral shop in Tulsa, and rarely gets to travel because she is so busy designing floral arrangements for some of the biggest events in Tulsa. One night this summer we were having dinner together, and I asked her where she would visit in the U.S. if she had a choice. Without hesitation, she answered “Seattle!” A month later we were on a plane destined for a four-day trip to Seattle, which she allowed me to organize. It had been ten years since I had been there, so it was nearly just as new to me.

We stayed downtown in the beautiful Hotel Monaco where we were able to easily walk to nearly every place we wanted to see. Well, easily might be a stretch since Seattle has many steep hills, but we managed to climb those hills with fervor since many of our destinations included food.

One of our favorite restaurants was Joule, a contemporary Korean steakhouse. It was an incredible start to our Seattle adventure, and we could not stop thinking about it for days. Sunday brunch was spent at Cafe Flora, a vegetarian restaurant where we sat on the patio and had the best vegetarian feast I’ve ever enjoyed. Thank goodness they served eggs (and cheese). We felt like we’d eaten a big healthy meal just right for walking the hills back to our hotel. Cafe Flora is located near the Japanese Garden, where we sat on a bridge over the koi fish pond for over an hour. The fish were stunningly beautiful, and as we sat there with our feet dangling over the edge of the bridge, we told stories about our childhoods that made us cry and laugh. It was a really moving experience to do that with someone from an entirely different culture.

Of course, we found DeLaurenti, the Italian grocery store with the gorgeous cheese counter...

Of course, you can’t visit Seattle without walking along the Puget Sound waterfront, and visiting Pike Place Market overlooking Elliott Bay. It’s a public market that has been around since 1907, and features fishmongers, produce stands, restaurants, antique shops, and craft shops. You can spend an entire day visiting the busy market, and not see it all. Of course, we found DeLaurenti, the Italian grocery store with the gorgeous cheese counter and wine room! We spent hours enjoying a platter of cheeses and bottle of Rosé. I loved looking at all the Italian food items in the store that I recognized from my recent travels in Italy. I also shopped in the cooking supplies shop called Kitchen N Things, which has been there for 40 years. I found a few tools impossible to live without.

Another morning was spent walking to the Space Needle and visiting the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit. It was magnificent, and is a spectacular way to spend hours viewing the most incredible works of art by Dale Chihuly. We particularly enjoyed the gardens where Anne Marie was mesmerized by the varieties of flowers and glass sculptures of flowers. We skipped visiting the Space Needle because the visibility wasn’t good due to nearby forest fires. Instead, we found the perfect breakfast spot, Lola, where we ate eggs benedict, huevos rancheros, and a stack of pancakes.

Our final breakfast in Seattle was at Bakery Nouveau in Capital Hill.

The only downfall was that we had to walk several miles back to the hotel with very full tummies. Our final breakfast in Seattle was at Bakery Nouveau in Capital Hill. We walked there (of course), and waited for them to open so we wouldn’t have to stand in a line to get in. Once inside, we couldn’t believe how beautiful the pastries and quiches looked. Anne Marie said it was just like a French bakery. Because we’d come so far, we knew we should try several things, and not one of them was disappointing. If I had to recommend one eating spot in Seattle, it would be Bakery Nouveau!

Our final night in Seattle, we decided to be real tourists and take a sunset ferry ride in the bay. Although we boarded with at least a hundred other tourists, it was one of the coolest things we did on the trip. The tour guide on the top deck was a former Marine, and his knowledge of the area was incredible. We got to see the Seattle skyline at sunset, and learned about most of the buildings and their history. The Ferris wheel was lit up beautifully, and I couldn’t recommend this tour more highly.

After three full days in Seattle, we decided to spend one night 40 miles east, in Snoqualmie Falls. We stayed at the Salish Lodge and had a room with a perfect view of the falls. I had read about a farm-to-table dinner at The Herbfarm, so I booked the “Hundred Mile Dinner.” It was a nine-course meal with every ingredient being from within one hundred miles of the restaurant (including the salt). The meal lasted four hours, and we were treated to our own special tour of the wine cellar (26,000 bottles), the patio with wood fire oven, and the chef’s loft, where the chef gets inspired for his menus. It was quite an experience, and for many reasons we will never forget it.

Anne Marie and I came home better friends than ever. We laughed so much, we knew we needed a break from each other just to recover. We shared so many stories, and we’ve already begun plans for next year’s adventure. Seattle was wonderful, and I highly recommend a visit, but traveling with a friend to discover new places is the best adventure you can have.

Sangria & Paella Summer Cooking Class

It was a perfect class to teach this summer.....Sangria and Paella. I've travelled in Spain only once, but I tasted the delicious paella near Valencia on the eastern coast, where paella is reputed to have been first created. It's a tasty dish using the local short grain rice and delicious meats and vegetables from the area. Seafood paella is popular closer to the coast, while paella made with rabbit, pork, chicken and beans is more popular further inland. "Paella" literally means "pan" in Spain, and the pan used for this particular dish can be found in many different sizes. In Spain, there are often paella parties where the huge pan sits over an open fire, and can serve hundreds of people. I own paella pans in three different sizes, and usually use the biggest one since I can feed up to 25 people. My favorite paella is made with chicken and pork. I also add saffron, hot smoked paprika, sweet smoked paprika, and artichokes. I've cooked over an open fire, but in most paella classes I place the pan over three gas burners in my kitchen, and it turns out delicious.

Sangria is a refreshing drink that I make frequently in the summer. It's basically a fruit punch made with wine and fruit. In this class I made two different sangrias, one with rose wine, elderflower liqueur, and stone fruits. I also made one with white wine, brandy, citrus fruits and green apple.

You can find my recipes at these links: CATALAN-STYLE PAELLA & SANGRIAS, and let me know what you think. The paella tends to be best eaten the day it's made, but the sangria can last for several days in your refrigerator. However, it's so good I doubt you'll have any leftovers.